Future Unleashed Page 3

  Stoddard took note.

  “No one looks away. They’re—I don’t want to say relaxed, but they have purpose, and there are no soldiers in the street. How do you it?” he asked.

  “We all do it, in part, but it has a lot to do with being free. This is ours, not mine, despite the decisions ending with me. And my women. People are invested, and they know what’s waiting out there if they can’t remain civilized. I’ve had a couple drunken punch-ups, but even those were handled without my intervention. Only one case required me to get involved,” I said, thinking of Breslin’s treacherous wife.

  “And?”

  “It was resolved,” I said, in a tone that invited no further discussion. Let Stoddard see our will. I sensed we would need that perception later.

  “Jack! I see you’ve come to your senses. Day drinking is an honest pursuit!” The man bellowing at us was short, thick, bald, and of Asian descent, his head a sunburned circle of red skin flecked with sunspots. “Coming in? Your friend looks thirsty.”

  “Stoddard, this is Colaber, and you’re standing in front of our first real pub,” I said.

  Colaber shook Stoddard’s hand with unrelenting good cheer, waving us inside the open, airy building. It was part cabana, part pub, and all Oasis, having two rifles armed and ready over the bar in case of animal attack--- or invasion.

  Stoddard grinned like a cat. “Now this? I recognize. Lead on sir, and lend me a taste of your artistry.”

  “Aha! A silver-tongued man who understands the importance of my role here. Sadly, any Oasis residents regard my establishment as. . .optional.” Colaber wiggled his thick fingers with distaste, pulled out a stool for Stoddard, and went behind the bar. He began pouring small cups of whiskey so raw the fumes made my eyes water.

  “What’s the vintage?” I asked.

  Colaber made a show of thinking. “Yesterday, perhaps. I’m aging some finer things in the cool sand, but for now, this will do. To your health, gentlemen.” We toasted and drank.

  The whiskey was somewhere between lava and sand, but with more kick. Colaber left the bottle and excuse himself, off to check his stills under a pair of soaring oaks.

  “A fine sort. Is he a new addition?” Stoddard said.

  “We’re all new here,” I said, earning a bark of laughter from Stoddard.

  His smile fell when he looked out under the canopy, white lanes spreading away in clean order. “We used to have this.”

  “And now?”

  “The lines of flood debris rest, unraked and untended. Massive snakes prey on our herds, and our gardens are spotty at best. The fish traps are torn away in storms, and children go hungry while the royal house dances, ever looking away from the Procurators and their filthy need for darker things. It’s not a shadow on her lands, Jack. It’s a curse,” Stoddard said.

  I nodded, then poured him another drink. “I’m going to invade.”

  He sputtered, then looked at me sharply as if he was seeing me for the first time. “Just like that? A whole empire?”

  “Not an empire. A planet.”

  Stoddard placed his cup down carefully, then rotated his bulk to face me. “Jack, I appreciate your, ah—confidence. It’s unusual because I’ve seen so many utter liars.”

  “Why? The royal house? Or just your empire?” I asked.

  He shook his head mournfully. “Tegan.”

  “Ah.”

  “You cannot believe what men will say to get close to her. That beauty alone would—well, you’ve seen her. But there’s more to her than that. There’s the land, and the potential for power, and then the smart ones, of whom there are precious few. . .they realize she is every inch a queen.” He thought for a moment, then pointed vaguely outside the pub. “Like your women. All of them have something. Even an old fool like me could see it. You called Aristine a general?”

  “She is. And then some.”

  “I can tell. And Mira, and Andi. Even at a distance, it’s obvious. So when you tell me you’re going to invade, is it for her, or for the people?” Stoddard asked, his eyes bright with interest.

  “Both.”

  Stoddard sighed. “And honest man, and a confident man. Rare.”

  “My women are rarer still, and The Free Oasis is wholly unique. I will protect all of them with everything I have, Stoddard, and let me assure you—I have a lot of blood and fight to give.”

  “How will you begin?” he asked.

  I looked up, then smiled. “First, we’re going to take a little trip.”

  “To the river? Won’t our people and the Procurator scouts see you coming?” he asked.

  I smiled, and now it was turn to look like a cat. “Not a chance. They won’t be looking up.

  5

  “How many flights have you made?” I asked Neve. She was busy with a small pistol, the grip made of ceramic and contoured to her hands.

  “Sixty. All Daymares make ten flights in training, but a core of us are naturally made for the three-dimensional rigors of flight control. I find it easy, and I don’t miss details on the ground. Even Aristine know there’s no substitute for a human eye when it comes to data,” Neve said. Her hazel eyes were flecked with green and gold, and there was an intensity to her that made her radiate confidence. Beyond her dark-haired beauty, she was athletic, skilled, and fearless—perfect for going into battle of any kind, especially in a world that was built to kill everything in it.

  We were hurtling along the road at a speed that would have been impossible a month earlier. Breslin and his crews were making travel a reality again, with roads that were straight and safe. The truck didn’t even shake as we drove east toward the Cache, where the Vampires waited in their launching cradles under a shelter. The Daymares were now a permanent staff at the Cache, rotating through from the Chain to get valuable topside experience for our inevitable growth as a nation.

  “Nation,” I said, then repeated the word to myself.

  “What’s that?” Neve asked.

  “We’re becoming a nation. Not an oasis anymore, or a town. A nation, and I’ve got to plan accordingly. Things are happening at a rate I hadn’t entirely anticipated. Not that I’m complaining,” I added.

  “We like it, it it’s any consolation. We were ready to grow.”

  “From underground, or just in general?” I asked.

  “Both, I think. Aristine is the best General we’ve ever had, and it’s not even close. The Chain was always meant to be more than a holding tank. It was supposed to be a launching pad for civilization, but only under certain terms. You brought those terms to life, and we all know it. That’s why so many of us want topside duty. We can see the future, and it’s different,” she said.

  “Different as in bad?”

  She shook her head, and a lock of hair fluttered on her freckled cheek. “No, just different. We lived every day in the cool underneath, knowing that there would come a sunrise where we would have to push outward. The virus wouldn’t keep us down forever. Nor would it keep the world down. There have been some good tries in the past,” she said.

  “Attempts to rebuild? I saw some of those on the sat data.”

  She shook her head slowly, sifting memories. “They tried, and then they died. Always the same reasons—greed, war, the occasional crazy who thought they were a god, stuff like that. We watched from our safety, knowing that at some point, the balance would shift and it would be time to move. That time is now, but I worry that the virus will cut us down as we go outward.”

  “It’s us now?” I said, smiling. “Good to know.”

  Her smile was a white flash. “I think the General made that clear when she laid eyes on you. Then the rest of us followed, but it took a while for some of the engineers, who were leery of throwing in with someone who didn’t understand how the Chain worked. I think you do, now, and so do they. We don’t fear coming up to fight, but we know that not all of us will survive to the end of whatever is coming. And there will be war. There’s always war when you try to rebuild.”

>   “Of all the things I want to do, protecting my people comes first, and that means your people. Our blood isn’t cheap, and I won’t treat it that way,” I said.

  “I know. That’s why I’m here with you, but if I’m honest, I don’t think we’re going to like what we find in that river, Jack. There’s a reason those royals have gone batshit crazy, and it isn’t inbreeding or toxins. They’re either scared of compromised or both, and Tegan might be the only reasonable one left.”

  “Stoddard’s okay, for an old grifter. I can trust him because he wants to live more than anything else. That’s a powerful motivation, and it means I can watch him to see what the risks are as we move forward in—well, into conquering this kingdom.” Just saying the words left me oddly unsettled. I wasn’t an emperor, but I was going to have to be a king, and that meant the use of force.

  “The river will fight us, too. It’s big, there’s a massive chain of lakes, and old failed dams all along it. This world doesn’t want to be tamed, Jack,” she said.

  “Then we won’t try to tame it. We’ll reach an agreement instead.”

  “You must be a heluva negotiator,” Neve said.

  I gave her a long, appraising look. “You have no idea.”

  6

  The Daymares on duty at the Cache greeted us by communicator when we were three klicks out.

  “Come on in, Jack, Neve,” said a male voice.

  “Can you see us?” I asked, peering out through the windshield. It was later afternoon, and the sun flooded the landscape with brilliant light.

  I saw a flash, and Neve chuckled. “We’re in his scope. Hey Clancy, that you?”

  The flash repeated twice as he twitched his scope in the sunlight, like a signaling mirror. “Nice to see you. The crew is out tagging a herd of plant-eaters and clearing a blocked stream. I stayed behind for security. You’ll have the place to yourself for a few hours,” Clancy said over the channel.

  “We’re taking the Vampires up,” I said.

  “They’re ready. Yulin told us, and good flying to you. The river’s high right now from some rains that tracked northwest over the lakes. Your flight will be until dawn?” Clancy asked.

  “About there. Eight or nine hours in air, maybe ten. Have the crew track us once they’re back, but we don’t anticipate landing except to observe from a high point, probably on the south side of the river,” I said.

  “Watch your ass. Dangerous as hell down there, and a lot of rockslides. We’ll be watching,” Clancy said. He waved as we passed by, his form almost invisible on a rock outcropping two hundred meters outside the entrance to the inner zone protected by trees and silos. “Happy hunting. I’ll be here if you need anything during takeoff. Vamps are prepped, and there’s go-bags in each. Neve, we put some of those dried peaches you like in your bag.”

  “Quit spoiling me,” Neve said, but she smiled.

  “Never. Clancy out.”

  The channel was clear as I parked the truck, got out, and limbered up. We were in partial shade from the silos and scrub trees that hid the facility to all but a trained eye. Andi had been here, sleeping away the centuries until I woke her up and dragged her into rebuilding the entire world. Sometimes, I think she wished she was still sleeping, but only because the woman truly appreciates naps.

  “Shower, eat, fly?” Neve asked.

  “Perfect. Let’s get aloft before sunset. We can fly on instruments, but I’d rather be at height before we lose the thermals,” I said. The Vampires were semi-rigid winged attack craft, capable of massive damage in a fight, but they climbed much faster on thermals. We would use the sun’s heat to get us up and away before the cool night breezes stole our lift power.

  Our boots rang on the metal stairs as we went into the Cache. It hummed with quiet purpose despite being empty—for the moment—of anyone other than us. It also smelled a far cry better than the first time I’d been inside, with massive scorpions and rats battling for supremacy of an underground kingdom. Now, the lights were warm and bright, the air clean, and there were hints of human life around us as we descended to the showers and mess, lockers in obedient rows now filled with weapons and gear.

  “They run a tight ship,” I said. Everything was in order, and ready for use.

  “Call it a habit,” Neve said. “We like to be prepared, and topside, that means every bit of gear is ready at all times.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” I said, stripping off my shirt and stepping toward the showers. We would get clean, and then we would put on flight suits made of ripstop material and a cable system that connected us to the Vampire. We would be in constant contact with the system and each other, as well as hands-free weapons operation that made the little flyers punch well above their weight. With the addition of a Condor combat drone, we would have enough firepower to clear out a nest of lizards or a roaming caravan of raiders, usually in one pass.

  Neve shucked her clothing without a second thought, standing naked in front of me as she selected a bottle of soap and padded to her own shower. Her muscles were long, lean, and sculpted by hard work and perfect genes. She was beyond beautiful, and when she looked over her shoulder, she was also smirking.

  “Daymares keep all of our equipment ready at all times. Maybe we’ll have to land tonight. For observation,” she said with a challenging smile.

  I gave her a rueful shrug. “I don’t see any way around it. Flying is hard work. We’ll need at least an hour break.”

  She turned on the water in a scalding spray, looking me over. “Better make it two.”

  Thirty minutes later, we stood side by side in flight suits, strapped with weapons and adjusting our custom masks.

  “Your team has been busy,” I said. There were new pockets on the suits, new belts of keeping weapons close to hand, and the faceplates were shaped to create a slipstream. “These are better. A lot better.”

  “There aren’t any cables for connecting to the system. It’s wireless now, and we can communicate directly, as well as voice commands for the drone,” Neve said.

  “What about armament?” I asked.

  “You can fire guns from the visor display, as well as voice commands. I’d recommend speaking for a few moments to tune the system, but our conversation right now should be enough,” she said. There was a soft chime in my ear and she smiled. “It’s done. You’re keyed in for verbal commands, as well as optical. We can go to launch.” She flicked her eyes and a map appeared on my visor.

  I blinked and practiced dragging icons around, as well as changing the focus. “Slick. And at night? Do we have full spectrum?” I asked.

  “And then some, but the ‘bots in our bodies are going to make the night vision into something far beyond natural sight. We’ll be able to assign targeting data and threat vectors with the flick of our eyes,” Neve said.

  We left the ready room together, climbing the stairs to the hall. In a moment, we emerged in the silo and took the spiral steps up to the top, where a door opened out onto the wide circle of flat metal that served as our launch pad. The Vampires could take off in a matter of meters, and adding height to the launch made them even more efficient at getting aloft in a hurry.

  The door swung open without a sound—greased by the Daymares, who had turned every part of the Cache into a smoothly functioning facility. Around us, dusk fell softly, the birds and insects hunkering down for the night as cool dark hues began to spread up from the eastern sky.

  Neve closed her faceplate. It was three-quarter coverage with a small mic in front that spread like a net. I’d never seen the design, but it looked tough, like black wire netting. “Testing. Hear me?”

  “Loud and clear,” I said into my own. We exchanged thumbs up and began to slip into our harnesses. There were mechanical straps as well as magnetic connection points. When I clicked into place, the sensation was free, not restrained. It wasn’t like being a hanging plant basket at all. The Daymares had improved the setup considerably. “Launch,” I said without fanfare, and we both step
ped forward as the engines kicked hard enough to lift us up and away from the silo. The night air rushed past, but muffled from the insulation of the suits. It was more of a suggestion than sensation, and in moments we were climbing and heading east at a pace that ate up the klicks.

  “Scanning,” Neve said. She linked her display to mine and went deep into the menu, finding a function that reduced radar contacts to colored dots based on mass, type, and motion. The blue/red shift was an effective way for me to instantly tell what was alive, what was big, and what was moving.

  We flew in silence for some time with the sound of our breathing and the crescent moon as our companions. Then, at the very edge of our scan, a riot of color broke out.

  “The river. And a lake,” Neve said. “Animals.”

  “Not animals. A herd,” I said. There were dozens and then hundreds of contacts in the water in a sinuous shape that tracked the shoreline. Set back from the large blue contacts were smaller lights, centered in round locations and varying slightly in color. I flicked through my filters until I could see the distinct outline of a round house. “Villages. Humans, and elevated. They’re in stilt houses or something like it.”

  “Tells me how safe it is to be in the water,” Neve said.

  The lake was enormous, with bays and winding cut banks that spread out over dozens of klicks. There were swamps and oxbows, along with the distinct outlines of long-lost towns. The lake had been continuously inhabited since my time, but judging by the amount of ruins, it was a hard place to build a civilization.

  “I don’t think it’s safe at all. Looks like the lake takes as much as it gives. You see any—ah, there they are. Boats. I thought there would be some kind of fishing fleet. What are all of those low areas? The ones rimmed in blue?” I asked.

  “Looks like cropland, or something, but I didn’t know they had rice. I can’t think of anything else that would be worth flooding that much land over,” Neve said. We were over the shoreline now, but so high in the night sky that the only details we got were purely digital.